Finally, earlier Monday, General Motors filed for bankruptcy.

As said: finally. GM should taken this step years ago. It took hit after hit, loss after loss for years, decades even. Every time it got in trouble, however, Washington D.C. came to the rescue. Not anymore, and rightly so.

GM is a company of a different age. If it wanted to survive, it had to modernize. It, and its employees it has to be said, refused to do so, however, leading to the logical conclusion that it had become a drain on the U.S. economy, meaning it should be allowed to fail.

Sadly, there is also bad news:

General Motors Corp filed for bankruptcy on Monday, forcing the 100-year-old automaker once seen as a symbol of American economic might and dynamism into a new and uncertain era of government ownership. (more…)

The New York Times reports that General Motors continues to push through reforms necessary for it to survive:

General Motors told more than 1,100 dealers Friday that their franchises would not be renewed next year, bringing the total for the week to nearly 2,000 car dealers that learned they were no longer wanted.| MORE ›

General Motors asked the federal government to bail it out once again a couple of months ago. Thus far, the Obama administration has made clear that it will only help if GM promises to implement the necessary reforms to survive for years, rather than months. Although the big company seemed willing to play ball, unions and other interest groups prevent it from doing what is necessary.| MORE ›

GM’s new president and CEO, Fritz Henderson, says the company is preparing for bankruptcy.

Politico reports:

Fritz Henderson, GM’s new president and CEO, said for the first time Sunday that the automaker is planning for the possibility of restructuring within bankruptcy, although he said he still hoped to avoid that public-relations nightmare.| MORE ›

Although President Barack Obama has told automakers he intends to save them from bankruptcy, he has toughened up considerably in recent weeks. Automakers, Obama said this weekend, have not done enough. They have not done what was expected of them. As long as they do not, Washington will not bail them out.| MORE ›

The New York Times certainly thinks so:

Fresh from pushing Chrysler into bankruptcy, President Obama and his economic team are hoping that the hard line they took last week gives them leverage to force huge changes in General Motors, a far larger and more complex company.

Officials say that, difficult as Mr. Obama’s decision was on Wednesday to take all the risks of a Chrysler bankruptcy, the politics of reshaping G.M. will be far harder.| MORE ›

To cut this story in the New York Times short: General Motors was told by the federal government to prepare for bankruptcy. The reason: GM is unwilling or unable (because of all the groups with specific interests upon which they are unwilling to compromise) to push through the major reforms necessary for it to survive.

I have to admit that I am somewhat surprised by Obama’s reasonably tough policy.| MORE ›

As reported yesterday, President Barack Obama has promised automakers he will prevent them from going bankrupt but he has also warned them he cannot save them if they refuse to save themselves. They have to push through major cost-reducing reforms, Obama said, and modernize.

Obama said recently he would demand automakers take responsibility for the position they’re in. It seems me means business:| MORE ›